


Fates are Written in Cursive

by Spoiler1001



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Comfort and love, Death, Division of souls, Flirting, Ghosts, Gifts, Grief, Healing, I love playing with tropes, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sex, Love, M/M, Mollymauk Tealeaf Lives, Proposals, Protective Mollymauk Tealeaf, Slow Burn, Trades, as many death tropes as i can think of, canon is fruit and i am a smoothie, edited to be more smooth., posted from tumblr, soft romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:26:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26865874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoiler1001/pseuds/Spoiler1001
Summary: Posted from tumblr. This is an AU where Caleb was stabbed instead of Molly. This doesn't end the way you think.  This starts after the fight where Caleb is weak after using what he believed were his last moments to burn Lorenzo away.
Relationships: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 5
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

Caleb was placed in a cabin, his lips blue, and his breath shakey. Nott sat by his side, holding his hands, her eyes were watering and she whispered nonsense to him to keep him talking.

Mollymauk held Caleb’s jaw and dropped enchanted blood, making sure ice kept the wound shut. He was angry and ran his thumb along Caleb’s jaw.

Caleb’s eyes were unfocused, and glazed over. 

“I’m sorry.” Caleb whispered. Molly looked down at him and made a small noise.

“I burned them. I shouldn’t have. I’m so sorry.”

“You are talking like you will not see them again.” Molly answered back. Caleb grew quiet. Molly grabbed Caleb’s shoulders. He was still breathing, but barely. “Hey, stay with us.”

The cart stopped and Molly gritted his teeth. “Why are we-”

A firbolg with pink hair and green armor walked to the back of the cart.

“I can heal that. How does the rest of you feel about tea.”

* * *

Mollymauk held onto Caleb the first night after meeting Caduceus. Caleb was fine, patched up good, but-

“Taking that blow was rather impulsive, one would think that you actually care for me.” Molly said an a casual tone. Caleb hissed a laugh, careful not to jostle Nott, who was curled into his chest.

“Yes, well I consider all of you mine. I don’t give up what’s mine.” Molly clenched his jaw. “I want you all safe.”

“That’s hard to accomplish.”

“I always do like a challenge.” Molly smiled.

A moment passed.

Molly’s smile dropped a bit. “What do you remember from the cart?”

“Bleeding out.” Caleb took a deep breath. “And the dramatics that go with it.”

“Oh. You know we all have our own baggage, right?” Molly played with Caleb’s hair.

“That’s why I didn’t try to run. Why I stay with Nott.”

“Its not the only reason.” Molly twisted the hair by caleb’s temple.

“No, but I’m not ready to think about that yet.” Caleb sighed. “I might get scared and run off.”

“Running wouldn’t be good, even if I healed you.” Caduceus’s voice rang out. “Though I can’t imaging how staying awake and talking is helping you rest.”

* * *

Caleb felt the absence of Molly on the boat. Nott curled next to his chest, still clinging to him for comfort. Molly decided to room with Caduceus and Fjord.

“I can’t believe we are here.” Nott hummed, hear next to his heart beat.

“Ja, you hate water.” Caleb mused. The boat rocked.

“But I’m not alone, here.” Nott whispered. “I have you and if I don’t come with you, I can’t protect you.”

“I do not need-”

Nott looked up at him, and placed a hand on the scar that Caleb recently got.

“That is an exception.”

“You need to be more careful.” Nott whispered.

* * *

Molly laid in Fjord’s abandoned bed. He was off doing something or another, but that’s a question for later.

“How are you holding up?” Molly asked into the open air.

Caduceus turned to face Molly.

“I am…dealing. Nott was right about water.” Caduceus grinned humorlessly. “It’s terrifying.”

“Lots of things are.” Molly’s tail twitched. “Caddy, why did you help us, when we were traveling after Caleb got stabbed.”

“Because…because fate had woven all of us together, and it was meant to be.” Caduceus smiled. “But the start of this was a bit overwhelming.”

“Blood is not an easy thing to get used to.” Molly hummed.

“Visible blood is seldom a good thing.” Caduceus sat up and looked at Molly.

“Magic comes from a lot of places. Mine comes from within.” Molly sat up and placed a hand over one of his eye tattoos.

“But it comes with ghosts.” Caduceus whispered.

“And secrets.” Molly agreed. “What does yours come with?”

“Duty. Standing for something.” Caduceus smiled.

“That’s why you were alone.” Molly whispered. “That’s hollowing. I know a thing or two from that.”

“I know. I could see it from how you clutched Caleb.” Caduceus smiled. “It’s good to be around people who care about each other.”

“You’re not excluded, you know. You’re in my group now.” Molly stood up and walked over to the other man. “I protect my group.”

Fjord decided that was a good moment to come into the room. He had a face of guilt and had marks all over his neck.

“Oh. Hey guys, did i interrupt anything?”

Molly just laughed and sat down next to Caduceus’ bed.

“No. But you look like you went on a wild adventure.” Molly snickered.

Fjord didn’t respond, just laid down in his bed.

A solid minute passed.

“Sleep well with your poor decisions.” Caduceus whispered.

Molly laughed and jumped into Caduceus’ bed, burrowing under blankets.


	2. Chapter 2

> Molly growled in anger as Caleb hit the ground. Blood splattered everywhere, the breath leaving Caleb in a soft gasp. Caduceus gritted his teeth. The enemies kept cutting at him. A spell dissipated the weakened enemies. Molly cupped Caleb’s face.

This was just supposed to be a simple rescue mission, not this. The plan was to grab Nott-Veth's husband and go. There was no plan for an ambush, there should have been. 

“Stay here with me. Hey. Hey. Hey. Don’t- Caduceus, can you-?” Molly placed a kiss on Caleb’s forehead. Caduceus knelt down next to them, calm and collected.

“I have the diamond, just hold him steady.” Caduceus whispered. Molly clutched at the limp body. Molly didn’t even pay attention to the spell, only on Caleb’s rapidly cooling form.

The spell finished and a moment passed. Caleb took a shallow breath.

Molly hugged him tightly, pulling Caduceus in too.

“Mollymauk…” Caleb whispered. Molly nodded.

“Don’t let Nott know about this.” Caleb smiled.

Molly laughed. “I’m telling her. The blood is just too obvious.”

“Yes but not now and that all I care about.” Molly kissed Caleb’s forehead. Caleb blinked and leaned into the touch.

Caduceus pulled away. “Lets move, clean up.”

The ride back was quiet, with Molly holding onto Caleb, his jaw slightly tensed.

“My fate is only delayed.” Caleb mused. “The raven Matron will get her due.”

Caduceus raised an eyebrow, hearing a second meaning to those words.

“I’m glad you’re back.” Molly whispered. “The Raven Queen will get us eventually but how about we only focus on now?”

“Ja, lets focus on now.”

* * *

Molly knew his reflection. He knew his skin. He knew Lucien in ways that he would rather not admit. He didn’t want to know Lucien’s past, but the flashes kept getting worse, and now came with pain and mixing that with the confusion of emotions and anger- Lucien had a way in.

“Caduceus, can I borrow you I’m gonna do something weird.” Molly said one night.

“This group does nothing but weird stuff, what to you need?”

“I can’t be interrupted.” Molly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Is that all?” Caduceus cocked his head to the side. Molly nodded.

They found a large quiet closet, Caduceus sitting in front of the door.

Molly sat in total darkness, hand on the red eye on his neck.

“What kind of person were you Lucien…?” Molly growled.

Images flashed in his mind. Blood spilled, anger filled his senses as he felt something hard hit the neck of his neck with a snap. Molly jumped at the numbness that followed, slamming into the door. Caduceus opened it slowly.

“Did you find what ever you needed to?” He asked.

Molly nodded silently, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I need to go lay down.” Molly whispered. “Thank you Cad.”

“Just take care of yourself. Sometimes the answers we find aren’t what we want to know.” Caduceus let him go and watched him leave to one of the bedrooms.

* * *

Caleb noticed that Molly threw himself on the nearest soft surface. He was distant, head swimming with thoughts. 

"Would you like some company?" He whispered, soft and soothing. Molly hummed and sat up a bit, looking at him. 

"If you're offering, I'm always up for it." 

"Bad dreams?" 

Molly laughed bitterly. "A past life haunting me." 

Caleb shook his head. "That can really hurt." 

"It's baggage I don't want. " 

Caleb was thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't you tell me so we can share the load. That can help." 

"I don't want to feel like you owe me. " Molly sighed. 

"I'll share too, so it's even." 

Molly sighed and Caleb sat next to him, the two of them relaxing into each other.

* * *

"Especially you, Bren.”

Molly’s mind stopped. How dare that man just casually try to undo-

Molly slipped around Caleb, as the rest of the group did. His jaw clenched as he stared down the man walking away. The group relaxed their grip on Caleb, except for Molly. He gripped Caleb’s arm as they left.

“I am fine. You can let go.” Caleb placed a hand over Molly’s grip and Molly let go. Molly stayed quiet and walked behind him, like a fuming, horned shadow.

That night was spent with Molly cleaning and sharpening his glass swords.

“You do not have to worry about me-”

“But I choose to. He tried to separate you from us, like we don’t talk-” Molly huffed and his tail thumped against the floor.

“We didn’t at first. If he pulled that earlier, Nott and I would have left.” Caleb sat on his bed, looking at the back of Molly’s head and neck, reaching over to rub his fingers over a thin scar at the back of his neck. Molly stopped what he was doing and leaned into the touch.

“The group would have dissolved afterwards.” Molly mused.

“But now, it showed how strong we have become.” Caleb smiled. “Now, with all of us, He holds no power over me.”

“But he will pay for what he did.” Molly promised. Caleb hummed, completely unaware of the scrying spell focused on Molly.

Molly went shopping alone, looking at cloth and other small trinkets. His piercings made noises as he moved, seeming to make everyone focus on him.

“Mr Tealeaf, you are truly a specimen. I can simply taste the magic resonating from you.” A deep, elder voice spoke from behind him.

“Mr. Ikithon, I have no business with you.” Molly gritted his teeth, the swords at his waist feeling mighty tempting.

“Well you made a threat against a member of the Assembly. I cannot allow that to go, but you can still be useful.” Trent smiled as two wizards pinned Molly’s wrists to a nearby wall, slamming his head into it with a dull thud.

“You son of a-” Molly snarled as Trent grabbed his head, too quickly for him to use infernal and his head just went numb, he couldn’t tell what Trent was saying, but he could see images flash in his mind, a soothing touch becoming a stab in the neck. Caleb’s soft look becoming hard, angry. Then nothing, everything going back to what it was before, and Molly went back home, feeling disappointed that he forgot what he meant to buy.

Molly walked back to the inn with a small pout and a big headache.

“Well, I’m feeling a bit down, i think i will sleep for a while.” Molly said to the group and went to his shared room with Caleb.

Caleb was sitting on the bed, with a book in his hand, long hair down. He looked up with soft eyes, the look getting concerned when Molly entered.

“Are you-” Caleb asked before Molly felt memories surprise him. He remembered Caleb get angry at him for something and stabbing him in the neck. Caleb killed him…

Caleb barely had time to catch him. “Caduceus!” Caleb yelled, casting messege. “Molly, he’s passed out!” Caleb touched the back of Molly’s head, and felt something thick and wet. “He was attacked!” The door gently opened and Caduceus knelt down and cupped Molly’s cheek, casting cure wounds. Molly, breath was still sporadic. Caduceus frowned and, not knowing what curse it was, simply cast greater restoration.

There was some kind of feed back, Caduceus could see Molly getting pushed into the wall, the memories being changed, he could feel the changes Trent did, turning familiarity to hatred. Caduceus growled and Molly’s breathing evened out. Caleb watched as Caduceus pulled away.

“Jester’s plan with her axe is feeling like a good idea right now. Trent cast memory modification. Molly needs sleep now. I’ll let the others know.” Caduceus gently put Molly on the bed, and Caleb brushed some hair out of Molly’s face.

“We’ll make him pay for this and so much more, my friend.” Caleb promised and kissed Molly on the forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

Mollymauk slept soundly as Caleb curled up around him. Molly was breathing heavily but evenly. Caleb pulled away slightly, to really look at him. It was hours after the attack from Trent.

Caleb stood up, gently running his fingers along Molly’s jaw. He had to see to something. He would be right back.

Caleb watched Molly for a second and simply walked out the door of their shared room.

“Are you picking a fight?” A deep voice boomed. Caleb froze and sighed.

“Caduceus.”

“That is what I am called. Now, are you going to pick a fight?” Caduceus sat in the bar in the tavern with a full glass of something.

“I’m going to have a conversation with an old friend.” Caleb said, with an edge to his voice.

“And that talk with your friend will end with one dead body to deal with after Molly almost-” Caduceus whispered. “I’m going with you.”

“It’ll be boring.”

“But no one will start a fuss.” Caduceus said, walking out with him.

Caleb led Caduceus to a house surrounded by fields and other houses. Caleb knocked on the door and sighed. A woman covered in scars and burns opened the door.

“Bren, you’re looking well.” The woman smiled.

“Astrid. Why is our teacher going after people who are fighting to stop the war?” Caleb said curtly.

“We protect our own.”

“Bullshit.”

“He threatened Trent!” Astrid looked up at Caleb. “We have loyalty, just like your group.”

“Still. That’s my group. He wants to protect the family.” Caleb whispered. “Like we used to be like.”

“We can go back to that.”

Caduceus chose now to speak up. “Honestly, no. Too much has happened, and you have no problem attacking people with who aren’t expecting it.”

“Protecting my teacher.” She answered back.

“And I’m protecting my friends.” Caleb responded.

“Just keep them from going after us.” She said, and slammed the door.

“That would have been a fight.” Caduceus whispered as the two made their way to the inn.

“Yes. I am glad you were there.” Caleb wrapped his arms around himself.

“I didn’t do much.”

“You kept my head on straight.”

Silence fell between the two of them.

The inn was quiet as they went inside.

Mollymauk was sitting a booth with a glass half empty. Frumpkin was on his shoulders. Caduceus walked up the stairs, with Caleb frozen in place, watching Molly with wide eyes.

“You should be asleep.” Caleb whispered. Before he realised, he was cupping Molly’s cheeks and looked him over. His wounds were healing, but he was cold.

“You left.” Molly looked up at him.

“I needed to talk with someone.” Caleb replied, not moving his hands, feeling Molly’s pulse.

“Is that all?”

Caleb pulled Molly into a hug. “I was protecting someone who showed me kindness from someone who taught me unspeakable cruelties.”

“And Caduceus-”

“Protecting me from my bad decisions.” Caleb grabbed Molly’s drink. “Now lets go get some sleep because I can’t be awake right now.”

“Sleep sounds amazing right now.”

* * *

Going to Xhorhas was not something that Molly wanted to do, at first, but the group subtly convinced him to go.

They gave the artifact back to the queen, got welcomed into the kingdom, and into an inn, completely covered by the queen. Molly set down on a bed and took a breath. His hair was getting longer, curlier and wild. The guards didn’t know Lucien so that something he could avoid, but his nightmares-

“I thought you enjoyed parties?” Caleb’s voice rang out.

“I just need to look my best.” Molly whispered with a smile.

“You always do.” Caleb sat next to him.

"flatterer. “ Molly laughed.

"I tell the truth.”

"I prefer the bullshit.“

"Is that why you are in here?”

Molly froze. 

"I’m just not equipped for this, and it’s scary.“ Molly put his face in his hands. 

"Which is why we’re a group and travel as such.” Caleb pulled Molly into a hug, wrapping his arms around the tiefling. “It - sometimes we need to just take a moment to breathe.”

Molly hummed and leaned into the hug. He took a deep breath and soon purrs began to mix in with the snores. Caleb played with Molly’s hair as Molly leaned into his chest, more specifically against the scar he got when he was stabbed. Comfort settle d into his bones as Caleb felt his eyes drift close but before he could drift off a blue tiefling bursts into the room, causing Molly to stir. 

“Hey we were looking for you guys!” Jester yelled, waking up Molly completely.

“Hello Jester. Is there something you need my help with? ” Molly said, with a deep rasp. Caleb blushed at the sound. 

"No. We just needed to know you guys were safe, but we interrupted something.“ Jester smirked and ran out. 

"Jester!" Caleb yelled.

"She’s already gone. But so is my pillow, but I can get the latter back. So please,” Molly grumbled. Caleb smiled, and laid back do so Molly could stop being grumpy. Molly wrapped his tail around Caleb’s wrist.

Caleb smiled and placed a kiss on the top of Mollymauk’s head.

* * *

There was a battle on the boat. Of course there was. Molly gritted his teeth, and watched as the creature slowly moved towards Fjord.

Molly needed to think fast. He threw his sword as fast as he could, but it just bounced off the beast’s skin, but it made the creature focus on Molly with two dead soulless eyes.

Caleb and the group rushed up just long enough to see the tendril lashing out a Molly, pinning him to the deck, through his chest.

Caleb screamed, launching a fireball, the attack launching the creature into Yasha’s fist and Fjord’s blasts. The creature crumbled and Caleb leaned over Molly’s still form, not breathing.

“Molly, please, you’re not done yet, you’ve still got so much to do.” Caleb pushed Molly’s hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. “I haven’t-”

Caduceus had a diamond at the ready, kneeling next to the two of them. Molly’s head just limply hung there. Caleb gripped Molly closer, despite it being Caduceus. Tears fell from his eyes.

“Molly, please come back I need to tell you- you make things better- you help- and I love you.” The last bit was whispered into Molly’s cooling ear. Caduceus was focused on the spell, but his ear perked up when Caleb whispered that. Caduceus could feel Molly’s spirit being pulled back at the words, and who was saying it.

Melora smiled down at the couple and blessed life back into Molly. Caleb choked on his sobs and pulled Molly into a gentle kiss, careful of the wounds that were still there. Caleb pulled away with a tearful smile.

“Hello, Mr. Caleb, you really know how welcome someone back.” Molly laughed softly.

“I-” Caleb blushed but helped Molly to his feet. Jester gave then a knowing smile as the two walk into a separate room, while the others watched.

They chose to sleep in the captain’s quarters, on the bed, curled into each other, Molly snoring on Caleb’s chest. Caleb cried silently into a pillow, just clutching Molly to his chest.

* * *

Caleb watched the peace treaty happen with numbed interest. The most he cared about was Mollymauk, who was closer to the meeting. He spoke up from time to time, as the countries made the choice to deal with the angel of irons cult, and seeing to it that the relics were returned. It was a long few hours but it did have an ending. All things did.

The representatives left the meetings and the group sailed back to Nicodranas, just to appreciate some time off. Molly decided to lounge on the beach, just to have some relaxing time in the sun. Caleb floated in the water, wearing nothing but his necklace, Fjord and Caduceus were lounging, relaxing, watching Caleb and talking quietly, planning something. Molly let out a gift and laid back on the sand,

Coming face to face with a black robe.

“So this is the Mighty Nien, the ones who helped broker peace.” A deep, uninterested voice spoke. Molly sat up, the shirt’s collar sliding off his shoulder.

“You are looking for us for a reason, don’t cry about where you find us.” Molly huffed, standing up. The rest of the group ran up to Molly, Caleb with a cloth wrapped around him.

“You have wisdom in your words.” The man smiled. “My name is Essek. I was assigned by the blight queen to assist the discovery of the remaining relics. If that is allowed.”

“Well it’s a good idea to have someone who is from the area to help us” Fjord replied. “We would be honored if you did.”

Essek smiled and teleported away. As soon as he was gone, Caleb grabbed Molly’s hand.

“Are you alright?”

Molly smiled and placed a hand Caleb’s, squeezing it, a way of confirming he was alright.

“Let’s just go home.” Jester said, grabbing Fjord by his arm and leading the way.

The group split off into multiple rooms, Nott with her husband, Fjord with Caducues and Jester with Beau and Yasha sharing. Caleb roomed with Molly, in one of the smaller ones but it was clean with a desk. Caleb copied his spells into his book, candles were lit, making the room warm. Molly was laying on the bed, relaxing. Soft purrs filled the room. Molly could feel himself getting tired.

“Mollymauk, when you died on the ship, what was it like?” Caleb whispered. Molly jerked awake and sat up.

“What brought this up?” Molly asked in a soft voice.

Caleb shrugged.Molly stood up and hugged Caleb from behind.

“There wasn’t much, near silence, but I heard you. What you were saying.” Molly whispered.

“Why didn’t you say anything.”

“Because-” Molly took a deep breath and nuzzled the side of Caleb’s cheek. “Because this is new to me. And the kiss kind of gave you away before I ever could.”

“Ja, that isn’t very subtle.”

Molly laughed. “Let’s just get to bed, you’re making yourself sad.”

“Molly-”

“Yes?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get to bed.” Caleb fell face first into bed, with Molly curled around him.

“Caleb, it’s the same for me too, you know?” Molly mumbled.

“What is?”

Molly answered by nuzzling under Caleb’s jaw.


	4. Chapter 4

Caleb woke to the pressure of Mollymauk sleeping on his chest. There was a small beam of light leaked through the curtain. Frumpkin sat on the bed, next to them, purring loudly enough to shake the bed. Molly groaned in displeasure at being awoken early. Caleb reached up and pet Frumpkin. Molly chirped and snuggled closer to Caleb.

“Good morning, Mollymauk.”

“Hello Mr Caleb.”

A peaceful moment between the two passed. Molly pulled away and stretched. Even from behind Caleb could see the scar from the attack on the boat. Compared to the other scars the new one was comparatively small, only about as long as the top of Caleb thumb to the knuckle. It also healed even with the skin instead of raised above the skin like the rest of them. Caleb gently placed a finger on it.

“It’s healed Mr. Caleb.” Molly whispered. Caleb pulled away. Molly pulled I his shirt and boots, finishing getting dressed. “Let’s see if the inn has breakfast yet.” Molly walked to their door, opening it to find himself face to face with Fjord.

“You’re up early.” Molly said with a smile on his face.

“It’s actually late for you two. We wanted to check to see if we missed you.” Fjord rubbed the back of his neck. The queen’s shadowhand is with us. They have found the last relic; I think the two of you should hear this.“

Caleb stood up and stuck his head out of the door. "Just give me a minute, don’t wait up for me Mollymauk,” Caleb slipped back into the room as Molly walked out.

The two of them walked towards the others.

“What’s the catch with the relic?” Molly asked when they were out off earshot.

Fjord took a deep breath. “It’s in the care of someone who attacked us.”

“Who?”

“Molls…”

“Who has it?”

“Ikithon.”

“The whole time?!” Molly ran his fingers through his hair. “When we convinced the king to do the negotiations, he acted like the relics were a new thing.”

“He’s a liar. He’ll say whatever it takes to smooth over a situation while benefiting in ways that people cannot imagine at first.” Caleb spoke up, surprising the two of them.

“And if we call him out publicly the war might start back up again.” Molly hissed.

“But we could probably convince him to relinquish it, provided its no longer useful to him.” Caleb said.

“We can discuss this with the rest of the group.” Fjord placed a hand on Caleb’s back, leading them tho the group.

The conversation was full of arguments. The group wanted to fight, attack Ikithon, but Caleb was hesitant.

“You saw what he did to Molly. We can’t just run in and attack where he has the advantage.”

Molly rubbed the back of his head. “It’s true. We need to either take him where he had no advantage or get rid of the advantage in the first place.”

“Doesn’t that mean the same thing?” Jester asked.

“On the surface, but they translate to different strategies. Taking him to a place where he had no advantages doesn’t do sea at with any that he does have, and does nothing do his hold on the empire. We might make him a martyr. Getting rid of his advantages exposes him for weeks at he is, and we make allies trying to take him down.” Caleb spoke up. “The latter is more difficult, but it’s better for all of us.”

“So we need to discredit him?” Jester asked.

“The queen doesn’t care how ours do one but the relic needs to be returned” Essek gritted his teeth. “I am here to assist you. I can help with your goal regarding this man, but the relic is the main priority.”

“We’ll get it done.” Yasha looked at Essek with a glare. “But we’ll do it our way.”

“I do not care, but know it must be dealt with.”

Caduceus raised an eyebrow at Essek but remained silent.

“I can teleport us to Rexxentrum, and we can start there.” Essek volunteered.

The group nodded and took fifteen minutes to pack. They met up behind the inn when Essek was finishing up sketching his spell.

“Let’s go.” Caleb sighed, tense and shaking. Molly grabbed his hand and squeezed. Essek nodded and a flash of bright light overwhelmed their senses.

* * *

The capital city was busy, but every person in their immediate area stared at Essek.

“We will contact you when it’s done. You can go home.” Caduceus said, watching the people and waving at them. Essek nodded and was gone in a heartbeat.

The group found an inn and got settled. Molly sat in a booth in the tavern, with Caleb in their room. He sat in a chair, thinking about his situation. He loved again. He found it in him to love again, but he couldn’t know if he was loved, if he was worthy. Caleb let his hair down and hummed in thought. Tears built in his eyes. Frumpkin nudged against his hand and purred.

“Ja,Ja. I’ll go to the tavern.” Caleb sighed and made his own way downstairs. Molly already ordered an ale for him. He sat down in silence. Molly looked at him through the corner of his eye.

“I’ve seen how much power that man has. It won’t be easy.” Caleb whispered. “It will be better if we just get the relic away from him.”

“How would we go about doing that? Ask him.”

“If we convince him that it’s more trouble than it’s worth, we could.” Caleb sighed. “It’s safer to not try him.”

“Caleb, I know how monstrous he can be, so I understand why you’re not for a one on one fight, but it is a possibility.”

Caleb nodded and rested his head on Molly’s shoulder. “It’s not him I’m scared of.”

“Caleb-” Molly cupped Caleb’s cheek.

“Careful who you talk about in this city.” A woman with the scars on her arms as Caleb said with a smirk. The two men looked up at her face and the burn on her neck. “You never know who’s listening.”

“Astrid.” Caleb deadpanned.

“Ah. You remember me.” She smiled cruelly at them. She placed the relic on the table. “We’re done with this. But in exchange, can you answer a question for me, since you seem to know all about these.”

“We never said that we knew what these were.” Molly snapped, grabbing the relic.

“But you were sent to receive it. Bren,” she asked in a soft voice, making Molly hiss. “I just want to know if there was a chance that we could have been better.

"Of course.” Caleb didn’t hesitate on his answer.

“But what does better look like?” She asked. Caleb sighed and placed a hand on the relic, focusing.

Oh. This was too much.

Caleb could see many futures, one where he married Astrid, but so many whet he was with the lavender tiefling sitting next to him. There was so much joy, so much love- and pain. Caleb finch hissed on that. He focused on that, and one timeline was shown, a grave with a brightly colored coat as the marker. He saw the Iron Sheppard leader stabbing Molly, his red glare, slowly fading until nothing was behind the eyes. The relic sped along the timeline to show him burning the murderer to a crisp.

It sped along much further, that timeline’s Caleb looked older, tired. “He deserves to live, have a life.”

He couldn’t hear the response but Caleb could gather that this was a deal. The other Caleb nodded. “I can live with that. Just let him be happy.”

Caleb was pulled back to his reality. Astrid looked at him expectantly.

“Yes, you had the opportunity to be better, but it’s not too late too be better now, so please leave.” Caleb was pale and shaking. Molly gently took it from Caleb.

Astrid looked at Caleb for a moment and walked away. Caleb was starting at the area above the wooden table.

Mollymauk placed a kiss to Caleb’s temple. “Let’s just try to to get to bed.”

Molly led Caleb up the stairs, whispering soft encouragements in Caleb’s ear. When they made it to the door, Caleb froze.

“Caleb, what did you see?” Molly asked, soft and gentle.

Caleb took a breath. “So many timelines, one where I was worth Astrid, but much more where we were happy.” Caleb looked at Molly. “We lived together in happiness, but I watched you die, not like the boat, but gone, we buried you.” Caleb cradled Molly’s cheek and pulled him into a hug. “A deal was made.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but you got to live.” Caleb let Molly go. “I don’t know what the price was.”

“Oh.” Molly was stunned. “Is it worth it?”

“A million times over”

Molly kissed Caleb. “Caleb, that- I” he teared up,and pulled him closer. “I love you too.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot the word 'BEACON'

Giving the relic to Essek was easy he flashed in, then flashed in grabbed it, flashing out again. The group watched in frustration. Molly leaned on Caleb, practically curling around him.

“You two are adorable!” Jester squeaked. Caleb blushed and Molly grinned.

“Danke, Jester. But this is still very new.” Caleb whispered, grabbing onto Molly’s hand.

“What i believe miss jester is saying is that we wish you the best.” Caduceus smiled. “ We still have a whole day planned ahead of us. ”

“Let’s go shopping!” Jester suggested.

So the group went shopping, enjoying the sights of the area around Molly was grinning, looking at all of the jewelry. There were bright, colorful, but Molly was in the mood for something specific. Caleb watched Molly focus on a corded necklace, with a red gem. It wasn’t a ruby, perhaps a modified quartz. It matched Molly’s solid red eyes. Caleb smiled and grabbed his coin bag. Molly grabbed his hand.

“Don’t. I got it.” Molly , swatted away Caleb. “Trust me.” Caleb nodded and let Molly do his own thing.

Molly walled back to Caleb with two matching necklaces. He handed Caleb one gently and put one around his neck. There were little silver moons on metal encasing the crystal. Caleb held his necklace in his hands and blushed, his mind flashing back to the images of the possible futures, the ones that promised him happiness. Caleb’s eyes watered.

Molly wiped the tears away, humming. “I thought you would like it.”

“It’s wonderful. I love it.” Caleb smiled and slid the necklace on.

Molly wrapped an arm around Caleb and purred.

Caleb hummed and placed a kiss on Molly’s forehead. “Let’s just focus on our goal.”

The group met back up at the inn, having bought supplies and various little trinkets and little things for their own amusement. They were eating in of one of their rooms.

Jester wss talking wildly about how they could possibly try to kill Trent, because ‘they needed a plan for after we make people hate him’. Molly was listening intently, with Caleb was fading in and out of the conversation, thinking deeply on something.

“…what do you thing Cay?” Nott asked, shaking Caleb out of his thoughts.

Caleb shook his head. “Its a complicated thing, he is dangerous. Can rewrite memories easily.”

“So what do we do.” Beau half demanded.

“We can show how he’s doing that, and tell the king.” Jester mused.

“And if he knows and endorses it?” Caleb whispered. “And what of his victims?”

A moment passed in silence.

“That’s what I thought. Can we message Essek? See if he can take us away from here?” Caleb ran his fingers through his hair.

Jester cast the spell and an hour passed. Essek flashed in with an exhausted expression.

“The queen has decided to give you a home for safety. We shall take care of most of the issues,” Essek sighed. “Just get ready to move quickly." 

The house was beautiful, at leased Molly thought so. It was big enough for them to each of them to have their own room, but they quickly paired up, for the most part, Nott going with her husband, Caduceus with Fjord, Beau with Jester, Caleb with Molly, leaving Yasha by herself. She didn’t mind, Jester painted a beautiful mural that Yasha treasured. 

The beds were warm and soft, Beau’s snores echoing throughout the house. The rooms were bigger than the usual inns, but it had a home aura around it. Caleb took a breath as he thought back I the last home he had, how he burned out tho a crisp. Frumpkin meowed as Caleb played with his new necklace. Molly was sleeping in their shared bigger than usual bed. He looked almost like a personification of the forgiveness that Caleb didn’t think he deserved. Caleb sighed trying to get into the mindset of sleeping. Frumpkin jumped into Molly, waking him and with a small grunt. 

"You’re over thinking again.” Molly sighed, pulling him closer. “I know why but, try to sleep so we can do our planning" 

Caleb fell asleep in a deep and comforting hug with the promise of tomorrow.

* * *

The new house was comforting and had most of the supplies constantly available, and it was and inviting. Caleb shaved regularly, but let his hair grow out. Molly liked to play with it, and Caleb was getting used to the attention. His nightmares were getting worse, one night having dreamt about the slack face when that other timeline Molly died. He knew his Molly was fine but,-

“You’re going to worry yourself gray.” Molly hummed at the time. Caleb relaxed into Molly, pushing away the thought for the moment.

It’s not an image he wanted to actually experience.

Essek gathered books on Trent’s research, and found books about the academy, with records of the news on the families of the students.The boss were obviously years old, with iron wings rusting on the covers. Molly watched Caleb read and his eyes widened at the mention of Bren in several notes from Trent, talking about his compassion and eagerness to learn. Molly placed a finger on the word ‘Bren’ in thought.

Caleb looked up from his reading. “What’s the matter?”

“I never really read much, but I do have the ability. It’s almost like he’s fascinated by you.” Molly whispered.

“I have a lot of power.”

“And you’re clever.” Molly smiled. “Smarter than him.”

“Not by a long shot, but thank you.” Caleb patted Molly’s back. “Let’s take a break,”

They stood up, their necklaces shining in the moon light. Molly walked outside. “We’re trying to take on half the world, we need to stop and breathe.”

Yasha stood on the balcony, smiling. The rest of the team was sleeping, and while the moon was out they could taste humidity ozone. Molly’s hair curled and he took off his jacket. “This is a wonderful place. I wouldn’t mind staying her for a long time.”

A lightning strike shot down, exploding a tree in front of them. Molly pulled Caleb back and Yasha jumped down to see what was the problem. The others ran to the area. Molly didn’t have his swords, Caleb didn’t have most of his supplies, but they were not backing down. Trent Ikithon glider down, ready to fight, Astrid and a third figure Molly didn’t really know showed up.

“Wulf” Caleb growled. 

“It’s good to see you Bren.” The man smiled, deceptively kind. Caleb flinched and grabbed Molly’s arm. Wulf saw and gritted his teeth, casting a form of spell. Caleb felt himself slow down, , and Molly dug his nails into his neck, causing his fingers to be coated in ice.

"That’s not who he is anymore" Molly snarled and flung the ice off of his fingers, right at Wulf. Astrid smirked and crushed a stone, sending a bright red bolt right at Caleb. Caleb couldn’t react in time but Molly could. He pushed Caleb back, into Yasha, the red attack striking Molly right in the back. Molly yelled and fell to the ground, the force hard enough to crack Molly’s necklace. Caleb’s heart stopped, and he broke free of the spell and picked up Molly, cradling him. There was no pulse, no breathing. Caleb glared at the attackers, tears falling down his cheeks, casting fireball. 

It hit all three but did very little damage. “You should know who you love.” Astrid grinned.

Caleb flinched when he felt a hand on his older necklace, the one used to protect him from the attackers. Caleb looked down and saw Molly with a disinterested look in his eyes, his face tinged with the necklace Molly got for them, glowing brightly. Caleb felt the cord on his old necklace snap and Molly held it in his hand.

"Welcome back Lucien.“ Astrid grinned. M- Lucien looked up at her. His head tilted to the side. 

"I don’t know you.” He spoke. Caleb could hear the Molly’s voice, but the accent that faded in and out for Molly was thick. 

"I brought you back.“ She smiled. Lucien’s face was unreadable and even. "They were holding you back. We can show you how strong you can be." 

Lucien didn’t reply but walked towards them, Yasha teaching towards him. The tiefling raised his hand, making her eyes go completely black with blood down her cheeks.

Lucien walked towards them, his eyes hard and his face neutral. Astrid wrapped her arms around one of his, and the four flashed out. 


	6. Lucien

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O.k. So I have no idea who I want Lucien to be, so he's this

Caleb laid in his bed, cradling his necklace. He hadn’t slept in two weeks. His skin was getting pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach, not eating. He stopped crying, he couldn’t anymore. He was just quiet, tired. He held onto his necklace, his mind going over all of the possible timelines. He didn’t remember if he’d seen anything about this, but all he could think about was the happy ending it promised him, and the deal that was made in the other timeline. What was the price- what was paid?

"Caleb, we are worried about you.“ Yasha whispered as she opened. Caleb looked at her and shrugged. "I just need time." 

Yasha sat down next to him on the bed. "I miss him too.”

Caleb sat up and looked at her. “How are you doing?”

“I- I’ve lost someone close to me before, I know what you’re going through.” Yasha whispered.

“It’s a fresh wound right now, but I’ll try to see the others today.” Caleb whispered, wiping his face.

“It’s slow process, but all it requires is one step in front if the other.” Yasha smiled.

Caleb took a bath and went downstairs to join the others. Everyone was quiet, not looking at anyone. Jester wiped her tears away. Caleb held the red necklace in his hand. 

"I’m sorry I’ve been closed off.“ Caleb whispered. 

"Everyone grieves in their own way.” Caduceus answered. 

Nott grabbed Caleb’s hand, squeezing gently. It was almost too much, and Caleb wanted to bolt. He took a deep breath and centered himself. He stiffened and relaxed. There was a beat as Caleb fought every instinct to keep quiet, keep it to him, but he took a deep breath. 

“When we were given the relic, I was asked to look at the possibilities” Caleb spoke quietly, scared of the words. Fjord opened his mouth to say something, but Nott elbowed him. Caleb continued “I saw many futures, many where-” Caleb’s voice “I was happy with him. Married, probably. There was one, but we passed the threshold for that one, but Molly was stabbed instead of me. He didn’t survive." The group was quiet. Caleb swallowed. "Before Lucien awoke, Molly wasn’t breathing, no heartbeat, and then he was there." 

"Like when Molly woke as Lucien.” Jester gasped. Caleb nodded. 

"When I saw him like that, it made me-put me in a bad place.“ 

"You do know that you have us, right?” Beau asked. Caleb nodded. “Do you want to not think about it?” Caleb nodded. “Book shopping?” Caleb shrugged. 

The day passed quickly for Caleb. His mind knew how much time passed, but normally he could feel time pass, but he felt nothing. No, he felt cold. Yasha awkwardly put an arm around Caleb when they got home and Caleb returned the hug. “I don’t want to be alone" 

They decided to make a nest of pulled and blankets, a space between them, the red gem dangling above them, Caleb talking about Molly, Yasha talking about Zuala. Caleb fell asleep telling Yasha what about Molly made him fall in love.

————————————————————————————————————————-

Lucien sat in his chair, the sunlight dying through huge stained glass windows. He was lounged, one arm of the chair supporting his lower back, the other arm of the chair supporting his knees. He held the two necklaces in his hands, deep in thought. 

"I thought that blood hunters like you danced with darkness enough not to care about your playthings.” Trent Ikithon sneered at Lucien. Lucien just looked at him with restrained anger. 

"I’m teaching you my magic, mind your tongue.“ 

Trent twitched his finger and Lucien fell to the ground, convulsing in pain. "Your soul is connected to that body because of us. We can sever the connection and leave you to rot.” Trent whispered as Lucien’s pain died down. He hissed weakly, letting darkness overtake him.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Caleb woke up to the feeling of feather light weight curled around his chest and Yasha frozen in place. He looked down to see a dark shade of a horned humanoid. Yasha raised her hand to the shadow. The whole room was tinged red, from the moonlight shining through the crystal. 

“Molly?” Yasha asked quietly. The shadow nodded and reached for Yasha. She phased right through. Caleb yelled out to the others as the shadow rested against the blankets and Caleb’s chest.

* * *

Lucien found books in the room they put him in. There was the magic books, with the initials B.E. carved into the covers of them, but one book, a diary with the same initials caught his attention. Lucien looked over at it, reading the words with interest. The book spoke of bloody lessons and harsh punishments. Lucien read it with very little concern, but the necklaces seemed heavier than usual. He could visualize the expressions of pain on the aurthor. He wanted to know what kind of man Bren was from the book. Lucien was fascinated with the loyalty this man showed. Loyal enough to kill and loyal enough to die.

Lucien hummed at that thought. It reminded him of Cree, the one who always stood by his side, out of love that he didn’t care to return. Of course he paid for this with a wack to his head hard enough to break his- 

"Sorry to bother you but Trent requires your - Mollymauk?“ A familiar drow asked with surprise. Lucien grabbed threw a nearby hardcover book at the voice. 

"Is that the name you know?” Lucien snapped. The drow dodged the book and raised an eyebrow at the anger. 

"Is that not-“ 

"No. I am Lucien. Remember that.” Lucien walked away towards Trent’s study.

He opened the door to the study and in there was a table with small razor sharp daggers, enough to make people bleed, but not enough to kill. Lucien grabbed one, nicking his thumb against it, making it glow.

* * *

Caleb held the necklace to the candle. Molly’s shadow danced on the wall. Caleb placed a hand on the shape of Molly’s hand. “Is it really you there?" 

The shadow reached out and Caleb felt soft pressure on his hands.

"We’re going to find a way to save you.” Caleb tapped the wall and stepped away, Molly watching him take the necklace away from the candle. A second passed in silence before Caleb took a deep breath and walked into the common room. It was almost pitch black, with the moon, full and bright, shining through the window. There was no wind, only silence. Caleb found a corner and sat down, thinking. This house was supposed to be safe from enemy attacks. Maybe personal enemies were different.

Caleb sighed. That would be a discussion for later. Now they had to find Lucien, despite him stealing the necklace that was made to prevent being tracked in the first place.

Caleb was so deep in thought, He just barely noticed Fjord and Caduceus sitting on either side of him. Caleb didn’t look at either of them but he nodded to acknowledge them. 

"I know that face. What are you planning?“ Fjord asked. 

"I plan many things, right now, I want to try something. "See if Lucien kept Mollymauk’s gem.”

"And if Trent still has him?“ Fjord asked. 

"We get Lucien back, regardless.” Caleb promised.

* * *

Lucien returned to his room, bloody and bruised. He tossed his blue necklace on the table, throwing himself onto the hard bed. The blood ruined the sheets but he was too exhausted to care. The faint longing of arms wrapped around him bloomed in his chest. He swallowed the feeling down. 

He felt a voice blast into his head.

\Lucien. We need you to come back. Trent is a dangerous man.\ A male voice with a thick accent filled his mind. 

\I am even more dangerous than him. You want me that badly, go to the academy. get me, yourself.\ Lucien growled through the feeling and took a deep breath, his wounds lulling him to sleep. 

He woke up to the sound of chaos and fighting. Loud cursing filled the air. Lucien felt Astrid wrap her arms around one of his and she was dragging him to a main area, and Lucien was still stumbling on his feet. There were dead and dying assassins lining the halls. Lucien was pulled to a stop in front of a group. Lucien could recognize two of them, a woman with skeletal wings, and a red haired wizard. He could recognize a fight anywhere, but he didn’t have much of a weapon. Lucien grabbed a broken piece of glass and Caleb winced. 

“Lucien, we are not your enemy.” He shouted. Astrid grabbed the glass from Lucien. 

"Bren, you no longer get to decide that.“ She slashed at Lucien’s neck, causing the shard to glow. She threw it at Caleb, who dodged it.

The last blow made Lucien weak, the ground rushing up to meet him. He heard screaming from the winged woman. He faded in and out, finally settling on bright blue eyes and red hair. 

Lucien tried to glare, but his eyes were so heavy. "So you’re Bren.”

Caleb froze. “Lu-”

Lucien blacked out.

* * *

Caleb held the limp body of Lucien, using a strip of his shirt to hold against the wound. He was cold and pale, with too shallow of breaths. Caleb gently shook the other man’s shoulder. There was no response. His eyelids were twitching, but his eyes weren’t opening. 

"Lucien?“ Caleb whispered, his voice cracking. A tense moment passed, Yasha’s rage filling the silence between them. 

Caleb could hear her slashing at the wizards, Astrid’s scream cutting short, and Trent zapping away.Caleb swallowed his fear for the man he never really met. The cloth was bled through as Lucien exhaled softly, going limp. Caleb’s heart went into his throat. He let out a small noise out of the back of his throat. He held the body close to his chest. He could feel the battle die off, with the group staring at him. 

"Caleb?” Jester asked quietly. He just shook his head, he didn’t look up or say anything more. Caduceus knelt down next to them, quietly but not stealthily. 

"Let me see.“ Caduceus whispered. Caleb just held onto the body and was just silent. "Caleb” Caduceus placed a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, causing him to jump. Caduceus used the momentary distraction to take away the red stained cloth, and cupped the back of Lucien’s head. Sighing softly, Caduceus pulled out a diamond and held it to Lucien’s chest.

The spell took a long time to take effect, but he could see Lucien’s soul fading back to where it came from. Caduceus felt the guidance of two goddesses, the Wildmother, the Moonweaver. He could feel the love from both off them, with the Moonweaver blessing the spell for more power. Caleb’s necklace glowed brightly in the room, but Caleb was too focused on the spell. 

The diamond shattered and a moment passed, in silence. Caleb knew exactly how long it was, but his emotional side was counting time in seconds. Then, a gasp. 

"Welcome back Mollymauk.“ Caduceus smiled. Jester laughed with tears in her eyes. Caleb hugged Molly close to his chest. Molly groaned in pain and exhaustion. Molly

"And where exactly are we?” Molly whispered. 

"Don’t worry about it.“ Caleb smiled through tears. Molly blinked and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Molly woke up covered into blankets, and curled around a sleeping Caleb. His entire body hurt and he was tired. 

"Molly; you’re up. What do you remember?” A deep familiar voice whispered. Molly looked up and saw Fjord. 

"There was an attack at the house.“ Molly whispered, trying and failing to sit up. The movement jostled Caleb, waking him up. 

"You’re alright.” Caleb hummed and held onto Molly’s arm. Molly gently bumped his forehead against Caleb’s.

"Not quite yet.“ Molly hummed. Their two matching necklaces clacked together, Molly’s cracked but still holding together, and Caleb’s not quite clear anymore. Molly gently held Caleb’s gem. "But I will be.” Molly took the time to took a deep breath and looked around. He was at the house, in his room, with Fjord spotting in a chair, apparently keeping watch over the two of them.. 

"Yeah, we had to teleport you home. It knocked Caleb right out.“ Fjord replied. Caleb just looked away from Molly as he stiffened. Molly looked over at Caleb, really looked at him, taking in all of the bruising and the dark circles under his eyes. 

"Fjord, we are fine. You can let the others know we’re awake.” Molly smiled at Fjord, who nodded and left. A moment passed in silence. 

"Caleb, did you shut down?“ Molly asked in a soft voice.

Caleb stayed quiet and just looked down. 

"Caleb, how long-”

"Two and a half weeks and you died. When you left and before we got you back.“ Caleb spoke in a monotone. "Because you took a hit meant for me." 

"So you blame yourself. Darling. You shouldn’t.” Molly kissed Caleb’s forehead. He wrapped his hands around Caleb. “Even if something happens to me, I need you to promise that you won’t just stop taking care of yourself." 

Caleb was quiet.

"Caleb." 

"I’ll try." 

Molly gently and lovingly headbutted Caleb. "I love you." 

Caleb swallowed and hummed. "Mollymauk, I love you and I’m so happy to have you home safe”

"You saw to that.“

Molly yawned. Caleb finally looked up at him. "You’re still weakened." 

"Need rest. So do you." 

Caleb couldn’t argue with with that, and the fact that Molly was pulling him back down into bed. 

Yasha heard they had awoken, and went in to check on them. She went in to find them back asleep, with Caleb holding onto Molly, wrapped in blankets. 


	7. Chapter 7

The group took time off to recover, with the Caleb reading books on the cult. Molly treated his head in Caleb’s lap, listening to Caleb turning the pages of the book in near silence. Molly had left his coat in their shared room, leaving him in his usual white blouse. Frumpkin was sleeping on Molly’s chest and purred.

"Have you considered getting married?“ Molly asked, his voice dry from him not using it. Caleb froze. 

"What do you mean?”

"Did you ever want to get married?“ 

"Mollymauk, maybe at one point, when I thought I had my life planned out.” Caleb ran his fingers through Mollymauk’s hair. “I do not think I can plan for that in the near future." 

Molly stayed quiet, lost in thought.The conversation died in the room, with Caleb going back to reading, admittedly half heartedly and half focused on Molly. Caduceus was calmly making tea in the corner, not quite listening to the conversation but hearing the sadness regardless. 

* * *

Caleb and Molly’s started to sleep with more pillows and blankets. They were curled around each other, almost braided with the blankets. It wasn’t a peaceful sleep as Caleb dreamt of Astrid cutting into Lucien\Molly’s throat, and the look of contempt, recognition and loss- maybe affection, fading from his eyes. Molly dreamt of memories that weren’t his. He could feel Trent Ikithon cutting into him, to make the blades glow, become icy, and more. It exhausted him, and the comfort that the name ‘Bren’ brought.

Both of them woke to hard knocking. Caleb helped Molly to his feet and they answered the door to see Caduceus there. "Essek’s here." 

The two got dressed and masse their way down. 

"Mollymauk. you have returned.” Essek said in greeting. Molly responded by giving him a smile that was more fang than grin. 

"I came bearing news. There has been word on the cult members using the same blood magic as Mollymauk.“ 

"If you look hard enough, you can find welders of all kinds of magic.” Molly responded, his mind reeling, as he tried to remember something but his brain had lost it.

"But you are the only one of note. Watch yourself. There might be people who don’t understand that you are not the main teacher of this.“ Essek said. 

"Look, the whole point of this is type of magic is sacrifice for the greater good. People like the cultist won’t fully realise the strength of their magic or they’ll lose control. It’s all about not crossing the line." 

Essek’s ears perked up. "Mr tealeaf, have you crossed the line before." 

Molly grew quiet. Caleb placed a hand on Molly’s shoulder. The whole group got quiet, with Jester worming her way under Molly’s arm.

"We all have our story Mollymauk. There is no judgement.” Essek said, standing up and walking out the door, causing a chime to go off.

"Mollymauk, are you alright?“ Caleb asked, leaning down to practically whisper in his ear. Molly could only nod. 

"So what do we do now.” Jester asked. “We stop a cult from rising their good.” Molly whispered.

* * *

Molly lead Caleb to books on blood hunting, and the magic involved. Caleb was playing with the jewelry dangling from Molly’s horns. Molly was thinking deeply. 

"Do you think it’s Lucien’s fault?“ Molly asked. 

Caleb froze. "What do you mean?" 

"I don’t remember much of my time away but Trent had interest in my blood. He kept cutting well past my limit for combat.” Molly shivered.

"That’s why, when we got you, you were so bruised.“ Caleb ran his finger along Molly’s horn. "You died because of it." 

"And now that magic is being used in that cult.”

"They have to be connected.“ Caleb’s hand moved so that his thumb ran along Molly’s jaw.

"Is this a way to discredit him?!” Molly sat up. “You clever man.” Molly placed a kiss on Caleb’s lips, running off to tell the others. 

* * *

Caleb prepared for bed, feeling better than he had been for a while. He could find a way to kill the man who hurt him and people he cared about for so long and he found a way to avenge himself. His story was bearing and end, no. The chapter of the first part of it was over. He was hopeful. 

Molly wrapped his arms around Caleb’s wrist. “You look happy." 

"Things are different. We can make a plan. We can win." 

Molly smiled at that answer.

"Let’s just get to bed. Can’t plan when we’re exhausted.”

It was a peaceful night for Caleb, but for Molly, it filled him with dreams of pain and blood. He was shivering, tossing and turning, kicking off the blanket. Caleb was jostled awake. He gently grabbed Molly’s shoulder and shook him. “Molly. Listen. You are safe." 

"Bren.” Molly whispered, his voice distant, like he was remembering. 

Caleb stiffened. “N-" 

"No. I read his thoughts as he died. Caleb.” Molly coughed, scratching at wounds that long since healed. 

"It’s over. Molly. Molly.“ Caleb whispered. Molly’s eyes snapped to him, his eyes foggy, like he was still caught in sleep. "You are home. Safe." 

Caleb ran his thumb along Molly’s neck, causing him to gasp and shake. The fog cleared and Molly’s eyes grew sharp. 

"You with me?” Caleb asked, Molly nodded, holding on to Caleb’s hand.

"I know what Trent did to you.“ 

"Not that different than what he did to you.”

"You wrote down what he did. He killed bits of you.“ 

"But this group is helping with that. And so are you. ” Caleb kissed his forehead.

"He must pay.“ 

"He will.”

* * *

The group decided to travel by cart to the capital. It gave the group time to prepare and to settle before facing him. It took a couple weeks, but they could do it. They had the dome and rooms in inns. The group watched Molly, making sure that he had recovered. Molly stayed close to Caleb. Yasha saw them and smile. 

Caleb pulled Molly away from the group the first night of the trip, out of earshot from the others.

“Caleb is something wrong?”

“I know how you feel about others crowding you, but the others would like some piece of mind.” Caleb pulled out an intricate bracelet. “This will, not quite protect you, you can do that much on your own.” He chuckled. “If worst comes to worse, you are given a fighting chance to come back." 

Molly took the silver chain with gentle hands. "It’s gorgeous." 

"It was made from my parents wedding bands.” Caleb whispered, latching it around his wrists. “They had it made, before- before. For someone I loved as they loved each other.” Molly placed his hands over Caleb’s. “A quick trip to Pumat took care of the rest.”

"I’ll treasure this. Thank you.“ Molly smiled.

Caleb just nodded and led them both back to the group. The rest of the travel was very quiet. Caleb had practice hiding his smile, but Molly was beaming the entire way. Snow started to fall as they reached Rexxentrum. It was a beautiful sight, with Molly and Jester almost playing in it, but their mood died down when they saw the walls. Molly grabbed Caleb’s hand and squeezed. The snow turned icy and the cold was almost burning. Caleb shivered, his lips turning blue. Molly had to hold Caleb closer to him.

"Are we ready to do what needs to be done?” Fjord asked. Everyone nodded. “Let’s do it.”

* * *

Getting an audience with the king was easy. Getting an audience alone with the king was an impossible task. Jester begged and looked at the guards with big eyes. It didn’t work.

The king refused to listen, even as they raised issues about the cult. Molly started leading the group out.

“Its pointless, you know.” A voice rang out. Molly looked up and was eye level with Trent Ikithon.

“You’re just an old man, what you’ve done will be revealed.” Caleb sneered.

“I’ve been told that many times. That is all just empty promises.” Trent chuckled.

Molly hissed and bared his teeth.

"So dramatic. It is your magic that the cult is using as of late.“ Trent smiled. "I’m surprised you got this far without anyone questioning that. "My associates would like to thank you in person, but that would be a bloody affair, so for now, GUARDS!” The last word was shouted, contrasting deeply with the calm whisper from before. The group found themselves surrounded by sharp spears. 

"You taught it to them.“ Jester yelled. 

"With his blood. Let’s see what more of it will do.” Trent grinned as Molly felt a point dig into his spine. 

Molly snarled and grabbed a small dagger strapped to his thigh. The blade in his back dug in a little deeper. Molly took a deep breath, letting the magic heat up the blade digging into his back, setting the whole weapon on fire. The guards stabbed the group, with another blade stabbing through Molly’s-oh.

* * *

Caleb knew the magic would save Molly, but the sight of seeing him impaled ripped into his soul. He screamed in pure fury. “You’ve condemned yourself decades ago, but your fate is sealed.” A wave of magic glowed throughout the room, launching the attackers back. Molly was gasping, the blood loss getting to his head, but he was grabbing at the thing lodged into him. 

Caleb watched Caduceus grab Molly, magic closing the wound, launching the spear straight out and right at Trent, who responded by trying to flash away, stopped by Caleb. Trent glared and tried the spell again, stopping to look at the spear now sticking straight out of his thigh. “Damn you.”

"Feelings mutual.“ Molly growled, slicing his hands, from the tip of his middle finger to the top of his wrists. The blood dripped into the ground, moving to a teleportation sigil, causing the group to melt into the blood, forming at a safe place, the one given by the queen.

When they arrived back to the safe house, Molly collapsed into Caduceus’s grip. "Hey, we made it.”

Caleb was about to smile and laugh, but he felt the grass phasing through his hand. Molly blinked as he looked over at the others, being pulled back into the sigil. Molly jumped away from Caduceus and grabbed at Caleb, but the group was gone, leaving Caduceus and Molly staring at a bloody spot on their front yard.


	8. Chapter 8

Caduceus stumbled as he tried to steady himself. Molly dug at the red mud. Molly’s breath was getting faster and shallower. His knees buckled and Molly dropped to the ground. Molly shivered, the spell and the blood loss taking a toll. “Mollymauk, you cannot do anything for the moment, we need to rest.”

“We have to get them back.”

“We will." 

Molly whole body started to tremble, his breathing becoming panicked. Caduceus gently pulled him into a hug. The blood from the wounds smeared all over the front of Caduceus’s armor.

Molly tried to free himself from the grip. Molly’s strength slowly drained away as the fight faded from his blood. The stress of everything finally caught up with Molly as his body went limp and his consciousness was stripped away from him.

* * *

Caleb sat in his cell, completely isolated in his cell, no sound from his other teammates. He thought about everything he went through to get to this point. From escaping the prison with Nott to meeting the group, to finding out about Nott’s husband- and the heartbroken disappointment that followed- and dying to save him. He remembered meeting Caduceus and being saved by him, and hoped that Molly and Caduceus got away ok. The cage he was placed in cancelled all magic and he couldn’t send messages and fight back. The cat he had for comfort was out of his reach. The fight and the dragging him back tired him out, and he could barely lift a hand. The thoughts were comfort to him, distracting him from th sunlight slowly leaving him I pitch black. 

"Well” a voice rang out from behind his cell door. He recognized the voice as belonging to his teacher. The old man now bore a limp as he made his way in. “You know, I learned a lot from the blood hunter. Lots of tricks. I rarely get my hands dirty, but some things need demonstrations.”

* * *

Molly woke up to the smell of cooking food. He felt well rested. His physical pain was gone. Looking down he could see new clean armor. He placed his hand on it. 

“You look like you slept well.” Caduceus said as he ate in his armor, now a polished bright green.

“I’m ready to fight.” Molly responded. “How long was I sleeping?" 

"Eight hours. Long enough for me to discuss things with the Wildmother." 

"The armor" 

"Was in fact her. As well as my armor. The food was me. Something to keep our strength up.” Caduceus nodded. 

“When are we going back?" 

"That is up to you, if you can do the spell again." 

"I can." 

"Then after we eat, I’ll let you set it up.”

* * *

Molly could perform the spell easily, with the meal seeming to give him more power. There were no guards in the main area, but there were loud sounds of running soldiers. Caduceus pulled Molly into a side hallway, summoning a wall of plants to keep the guards from getting to them.

“I can get us to where we need to go. We should get them and get out.” Caduceus spoke up. 

“I want Ikithon’s head on a pike.” Molly responded with a growl. Caduceus stayed quiet, listening. A moment passed and Caduceus’s face hardened. 

“Let’s go.” He whispered, grabbing his hand and running.

Molly was able to keep up easily, not able to hear the sounds that drove Caduceus, at first. Then he could hear a loud raspy sound. A scream dying, but still reaching for help. Molly recognized the voice hidden under the strain. His blood boiled. 

“You handle that, I will get the others.” Caduceus whispered.

Molly ran towards the sound. He didn’t think about what Caduceus was doing, but he just calmly opened the door, slicing a small dagger against his neck, causing it to glow. 

Molly saw Trent Ikithon standing over a bloodied Caleb. Both looked over to Molly. Caleb gasped and Trent frowned. Trent went to open his mouth to speak but Molly beat him to it. He snarled, pure fury morphing his features, as if Lucien rose from the dead one last time. Caleb flinched as foreign blood hit him, with Trent’s body collapsing right in front of him. 

“Mollymauk?” Caleb whispered as Molly knelt in front of him, wiping the blood off of Caleb’s face. 

“I’m here. We got you.” Molly whispered, picking him up. “Caduceus!” He yelled.

Caleb couldn’t place what happened after he felt magic healing his wounds, Molly’s heartbeat lulling him to sleep.

Molly held onto Caleb, the other unconsciously gripping onto Molly in return. There were the shouts of the rest of the team, but Molly couldn’t hear them over his own heartbeat. There was a dull thud of Trent’s head hitting the ground behind him, the knife it was stuck on clattering onto the floor. He turned to look at it molds, but Caduceus’s hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality.

“We must go.”

Molly nodded and shifted Caleb in his grip. Caduceus began to lead the way back to a place where they could be teleported back. Molly’s arms ached with the strain of holding Caleb so long but he pushed himself forward. They made it to an area where there was once very recently cement. Now there was vines and flowers conveying the wall, leaving the floor perfectly flat.

Molly handed Caleb over to Caduceus. There was a moment where Caleb held onto Molly with an iron grip, but soon enough Caleb was in Caduceus’s arms. Yasha handed Molly his blade, the one stuck in Trent, now dulled a bit and bloody. He wiped off the blood and very slowly started the spell to summon the teleportation circle.

They made it back to the house easily. Caleb was shifting and shaking in his sleep. Jester healed Molly’s hand, allowing him to grab Caleb and hold him. The freedom of his hands allowed Caduceus to cast multiple healing spells on Caleb.

His breathing was even and Caleb returned to his attempt at an iron grip on Molly. Caleb made noises in his throat but seemed to drift in and out of sleep. Molly felt exhaustion start to take over.

“I’m gonna try to sleep this off guys.” Molly whispered, using the last of his strength to get them to bed. Molly feel asleep in the bed, clinging to Caleb as much as Caleb was clinging to him.

* * *

Caleb woke up in a sweat. He could still feel the ghost of the dream cutting into him. Molly kept sleeping, the strain of casting the spells draining him in more ways than Caleb suffered when using his spells.

“You look better.” Nott whispered. Caleb jumped quietly.

“Ja. I- sleep helps.” Caleb whispered. “I- how did I get home?”

Nott gestures towards Molly, still sleeping, his tail wrapping around Caleb’s wrist.

“It’s a cool trick.” Nott took a drink of a fluid, not alcoholic, Caleb couldn’t smell anything of the sort.

“It’s dangerous for him to do so.” Caleb played with Molly’s hair.

“You remind me of when I first married my husband.” She smiled sadly. “Treasure your time together.”

Caleb looked at her, seeing wrinkles in the corner of her eyes and gray hairs, more gray than black.

“You see it too. I was turned to a goblin, and given the life span of one.” Her smile turned bitter.

“How long?”

“A couple years. I don’t really know.” She shook her head. “Yeza has thrown himself into research to undo this, but it’ll be too long.”

“What if I help him, maybe magic can help.” Caleb spoke, still quiet. Molly stirred quietly, dancing on the line of sleep and consciousness.

“I can’t ask you to do that, but I can’t stop you.” Nott whispered.

Molly pulled himself closer top Caleb. “I’ll help if it will solve your issue.” Molly’s voice was low and raspy.

“I can’t allow you to bleed for that kind of spell.” Nott spoke up.

“What if I don’t. And I just helped to the research.” Molly smiled at her. Nott just got quiet, not having an argument against that.

“Then it’s a deal.” Molly grinned, shifting to stand up.

Caleb grabbed his hand. “After we rest. We can’t do much bloody and exhausted.” Nott nodded.

“I know you will try, but I can wait while you sleep.”


	9. Chapter 9

Caleb woke up in an otherwise empty bed. He wrapped himself up in his sheet and wandered out of the room. Molly was deep in conversation with Caduceus. Caleb was too tired to listen in, just focused on getting food and some tea. He opened some books and started working on that equation. The blanket settled around his sleeping clothes. Molly hummed at him and kissed Caleb's forehead. 

"How's the spell going?" Molly whispered. Caleb just nodded and made a noise from his throat. 

A moment passed, the only sound was a pen on paper. Molly watched the handwriting and sketching while leaning on him. Caleb's penmanship was both messy and neat. Molly thought it looked like art. Maybe he'd get a tattoo in that font. Caleb hesitated, took a deep breath, and then his hand started moving faster than Molly could keep up with. Finally, he slammed his pen down and closed the book. 

"Caleb?" Molly asked and looked up at him. 

Caleb smiled and kissed him. "It's done!" 

"Can we cast it?" Molly smiled.

"We need Essek, mud, and diamond dust." Caleb nodded. "But we can do this" 

Molly's smile faltered but he was still happy. His tail was twitching but there was still stress. 

"Nott, we can cast the spell, we need to get supplies," Molly yelled as he dragged Caleb into their room so they could get dressed to go shopping.

* * *

Getting the clay was easy, so many pottery shops to find. The diamond dust was harder to find. Jewelers were less than pleased to all but destroy the gems. Of course, money got them to do so, and so did Molly buying two Sapphire rings with silver bands, not that Caleb saw that second purchase.

The second part of this was getting Essek. Molly was gritting his teeth. 

"We just need him for this spell," Caleb whispered. 

Molly nodded. "I can do this too." 

"And you will be there helping cast. The only reason he is going to be there is that it would be too much strain on you." Caleb cupped Molly's chin. "I know about him working with Trent while you were captive. He has abilities, a mastery of magic that we need. Everything else will be dealt with later." 

"How-" 

"I saw him vacate during our rescue." Caleb smiled in a soft, almost bitter way. "Also You talk as Lucien as you sleep. Mostly passages from my old journals, so I know how you spent your time." 

"Oh." Molly widowed as they arrived at Essex's house. Caleb smirked and quickly let it fade. 

* * *

Getting Essek to do the spell was too easy. Caduceus dug a hole in the ground, clay and dust were set in there already. Caleb and Molly helped Nott into the hole, with Yeza at the ready with a blanket. 

The spell started with Essek chanting, followed by Caleb. While they were focused, Molly began his chanting, his nails cutting into his palm, the blood causing the clay to boil and morph. This kind of use needed a lot of blood, but Molly was holding his hand straight forward, as minutes went by. Molly started feeling cold, his arms losing his strength. 

Finally, the spell was over. Nott, now Veth, pulled herself out and into her husband's arms. 

Molly stumbled backward, his skin pale. Caduceus grabbed Molly and started leading him to a bed.

Caleb took a step towards Molly but saw Caduceus helping Molly, so he focused on Veth. She had clay stuck on her but it was easy to take care of. Physically she was fine; emotionally she wanted alone time with her husband. 

Caleb left them and guided Essek away. 

"Thank you for your time. We will see you later." Caleb gave a polite smile, before closing the gate between them. 

* * *

Caleb made his way towards his room. Caduceus was tending to Molly, patching up the cuts, and tending to the blood loss. Caduceus was making Molly drink a tonic, before stepping away. 

"Sleep well, Mollymauk," Caduceus smiled and went to tend to the others. Caleb stepped into the room with Molly. 

He was pale and looked exhausted, the strain of magic taking its toll. Caleb took a deep breath and grabbed Molly's uninjured hand. 

"I'm gonna fall asleep soon, but since we did good things, and we did so much good in the world. Maybe we should have something for ourselves." Molly rasped out. 

"Molly?" Caleb ran his knuckles over Molly's cheek. 

"Check my bag." 

Caleb did as told, finding a small pouch.

He opened the pouch and two little rings popped out. Caleb froze. "Oh."

"I wanted to ask and do something to make it official. Will you marry me?" Molly whispered, fighting to stay awake. 

"I-I wanted to for a while, yes." Caleb slid a ring on, placing a kiss on Molly's nose. "I will marry you." 

Molly chirped in joy, sleep drifting off to sleep. 

* * *

The wedding was set on the beach. Jester made sure that they had it near her home. Caduceus oversaw it, and everyone showed up in their best formal wear. 

Caleb looked at Molly like he placed the moon in the sky. He wore a tuxedo practically made of lace to show off his tattoos. Caleb had to wipe his tears away. 

The vows were just a confirmation of everything they had said before and everything they will say later. Caleb spoke of the moment he realized he was in love. Molly talked of every little thing that he loved about Caleb. 

After the big kiss, there was a dance and party. Caleb could only smile at Molly and Molly lovingly headbutted him. The rings, the necklaces, and Molly's bracelet shone in the light.

There was a cake, a mixture of flavors, and wine. There was the Nein as guests, with a few friends. 

The air smelled of cinnamon and the promises of a good future. 

* * *

They rented the finest room in the finest inn for a week. The bed pulled them in and the sheets seemed to cover them all on their own. Caleb just gently ran his knuckles over Molly's cheeks as he slept. Everything that happened flashed in Caleb's mind. From meeting him at the carnival to saving the world. Caleb could only smile and thank the moonweaver that he had found happiness. 

Caleb wept at the thought. He cried at all the pain he went through to get here.it was silent, but Molly stirred before grappling onto him. "I'm here darling." 

"You are. You are." Caleb whispered into Molly's hair. "You're here."

Molly held onto Caleb, just letting him cry. "It's ok." 

"It's just, I just, you're-" 

"Right where I should be dear." Molly placed kisses on his face. 

Caleb just nodded. "I don't deserve your happiness." 

"Well, you are getting it anyway." Molly hummed. Caleb just held onto Molly as peaceful sleep overtook him. 


End file.
